Humbled and Grateful....

Hello, Heroes. My name is Tim Kretzer. 50 years old in a couple of months and from the state of Ohio, USA. I've been in the steel industry in this area since the mid-80's. I'm a structural steel estimator.

I never personally served in any of the military branches, though I was always ready to enlist had it been necessary, but I'm a loyal American citizen, un-hyphenated, of the USA, and very grateful to all of you who have served, or are serving, our country.

My father served in the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet during the Korean War ( I refuse to not call it a war ) as a gunner's mate at times, but a photographer most of his four years. He documented all of the brass' functions, of course, as well as various classified missions that concerned Russian naval presence in the area at the time. Much of his duties as a photographer, though, was landing with the marines and documenting those maneuvers and operations.

As a photographer, dad had a large, heavy box camera strapped around his neck, and while he was always issued standard sidearms, he said he was never able to access them quick enough on the few occasions that his group ( he and two marines that were always assigned to him to protect him ) were attacked by Chinese soldiers. Dad said that near the end of his tour almost all of the enemy soldiers they encountered turned out being Chinese rather than North Korean.

Dad's camera was his primary weapon. Apart from swinging it like a club, he figured out quick that he could set off the flash in the face of the enemy soldiers ( a flash that was like a small nuclear warhead being detonated, dad would say :) ) and the two marines that were with him would take care of the enemy soldier(s) very quick.

Dad had three older brothers, two of which also served in the Navy during the Korean War, and the oldest of the four served in the Navy during WWII. He went through the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor ( the ship he was on was in a group that was somewhere near the mouth of the harbor closer to open waters as I understand ). He was wounded during the attack, but survived, only to die in a freak on-board accident after the battle while helping to make repairs.

On my mother's side of the family I have three uncles, all of which served, two in the army and one in the Air Force.
I know the youngest served in Vietnam. I remember the day we went with him to see him catch his plane to boot camp, and also the day he returned to the same airport a few years later, wearing his dress uniform and covered in dried mud all over. He said the Viet Cong began shelling the airstrip they were leaving from just as they were boarding and they had to take cover in a nearby ditch until things settled down.

His two older brothers served in the Korean War.

I'm honored to be a part of this forum. As you can tell, MY story is really the stories of my family members.

In the words of my favorite President, Theodore Roosevelt, ""A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace."

God bless you all and God bless the United States of America.
 
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